One Pawstep at a Time
by QueenPersephoneofHades
Summary: You can't become a warrior legend immediately... the journey to becoming one takes one pawstep at a time. Collection of one-shots. Prequel to 'A Different Path'.


**A/N: The artist who drew the cover for this story wasn't me: it was Sugarplum-Tata from DeviantArt!**

_**~Warriors~**_

Eyes. The windows to the soul (though cats didn't know this expression). The only way you could truly tell a cat's feelings is by looking them in the eye and reading their every emotion.

It was also the most important part of a cat's anatomy, as a cat had to see to know where it was going, where the prey was, where the enemy was hiding...

That was why, only about ten sunrises after his children were born, Firestar paced around the outside of the nursery, tense and very, very serious. Cinderpelt sat outside the entrance, watching her former mentor with a bemused expression on her face.

"Firestar, I'm sure the kits are fine, you'll see! Once they open their eyes, everything will be alright!" she mewed reassuringly, attempting to run her tail along his flank, but he continued pacing despite her efforts.

"I don't know, Cinderpelt; what if something's wrong? What if one of their eyes didn't develop?... What if one of them is _blind?!_" Firestar could barely utter the word. He could think of no fate worse for a warrior; blindness at birth, no chance of ever fulfilling the dreams of becoming a warrior.

"Firestar-" Cinderpelt began, her mew consoling, trying to bring him some emotional peace, when suddenly Sandstorm called from inside.

"It's happening! Their eyes are opening!"

Firestar shot into the nursery like an eagle streaking after prey, and Cinderpelt hobbled after him rapidly.

Inside, Sandstorm was curled protectively around the tiny trio, watching them warmly as their eyelids twitched, struggling to open and finally look at the world around them. She ignored the cold claw of fear that had settled on her heart after listening to her mate's words from earlier, determined to see this through to the end.

Firestar watched, wide-eyed, as the oldest, Squirrelkit, forced her eyes open first, blinking shockingly green eyes up at her parents blearily. "They're just like yours," Sandstorm mewed softly, licking Squirrelkit on the head softly in sort-of congratulation for opening her eyes. Firestar could do nothing but nod as he locked eyes with his tiny daughter, who looked so much like him it was almost uncanny.

The tension returned abruptly to his shoulders as Skykit weakly opened his eyes beside his littermate, blinking in a drowsy manner, slowly and uncomprehendingly. Blue. Beautiful, startling blue. Firestar felt his breath catch, suddenly reminded very much of another cat named for the Sky, with eyes eerily similar to these. The old rogue had been wise and strong, knowing much about the ways of the ancient Clans and StarClan; would Skykit be the same?

Firestar couldn't help a strangled purr coming from his chest, and he licked his son's ears carefully. No matter his fate, Skykit was his son; he would watch after him like any parent should.

And suddenly he felt his heartbeat increase as the tiniest, youngest, and most delicate-looking kit of the litter started twitching her little eyelids, trying to force them open despite the long time they had been closed.

Sandstorm quietly placed her tail on Leafkit's little head, silently encouraging her to follow her sibling's example and open her eyes wide to see the world for the first time. Cinderpelt pressed against Firestar's side, offering silent support so he wouldn't fear the worst before it happened.

Amber.

Warm, kind, gentle amber.

Firestar felt his breath catch in his throat, unable to break his stare-off with his youngest daughter. They were so familiar, so warm, so heart-breaking-ly similar to _her _eyes.

Spottedleaf. One of Leafkit's namesakes. It was unmistakable; their eyes were exactly the same. The same shade, the same warmth, the same depth.

Sandstorm gasped and Cinderpelt tensed at the sight of her eyes, but Firestar didn't dare move, incase his nerve failed him. How was this possible? Spottedleaf was in StarClan, and wasn't related to Sandstorm that Firestar knew of; how could the eyes be the same?

But as Leafkit lay there, blinking at them in confusion, amber meeting one pair of green eyes then another, and a pair of cerulean blue eyes as well, Firestar relaxed.

It didn't really matter who Leafkit looked like or acted like; it didn't matter if her eyes were different or the same. All that mattered was that she was here with them.

"Welcome," he whispered, not only to her, but to all three of his beloved kits, "Welcome to ThunderClan, my children."

_**~Warriors~**_

**A/N: Yeah, so! This is the first one-shot prequel to 'A Different Path'. These will be ordered as well as they possibly can be, but if they're not in chronological order I do ask your forgiveness. I wrote this a while ago and only now decided to post it, sorry! Anyway, I should let any fans know that I am going on an official temporary hiatus on all of my stories; I might write a one-shot for this collection or for another fandom, but for now there will be no new chapters for my bigger stories. I am sorry for that, and I promise to write as soon as this bout of writer's block ends.  
~Persephone**


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